Of Trampled Flowers
by Miss-Statement
Summary: Chloe cheats on Beca, and the aftermath of that decision. Based on prompts I'd received. Trying to get back into writing, so we'll see how it goes.
1. Chloe Cheats

**PROMPT: Bechloe prompt: Chloe cheats on Beca (super angsty)**

 **rated T you may all hate me for this one, and it's not exactly angsty, but...**

* * *

Time.

That's what it comes down to, isn't it?

Humans are the only species in the world that care about time. Because it's the only thing that cannot be controlled, time is precious.

Someone should've thought to mention that to Beca Mitchell.

Really, Beca should've seen this coming. Chloe's new work hours, that perfume, her excuses, how she's always distracted. Problem was, Beca thought Chloe was the forever kind of girl. Because of that, she wanted to be a forever kind of girl too. And she loved Chloe, of that make no doubt. Beca loved Chloe with every fiber of her being: she didn't think it was possible to love anyone so much.

So she got the ring, and she came home early, and she set the mood. Flowers. Candles. Wine. A fancy, romantic dinner. Chloe was due to be home any minute. She dressed up in pants and a vest, put in her "for special occasions only" ear spikes, and set about to wait on her girl.

Just as the dinner started to get cold and Beca began to wonder where Chloe was, she heard the Chloe's keys at the door. Her excitement gave her shivers, and she was trying to tone down her nervousness. Maybe it was more than slightly creepy, but she was flat out smiling. She was going to propose. Of course, there was the doubt… what if Chloe, for some reason, said no? If it was just a thing about needing to wait longer, Beca would be happy to wait. If Chloe was just against getting married, then they didn't even have to get married! So long as she was with Chloe, it didn't really matter. Beca loved her. They'd been together since their college years.

The door opened, and Beca stood there holding out her flowers. "Chlo', babe, welcome home! I made din-"

They were kissing.

Her and some other girl. Chloe and another girl were kissing. Making out. Tongues and teeth and- "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY GIRLFRIEND!"

The flowers got trampled under her feet as she threw herself at the other woman whose hands had been traveling down her girlfriend's pants.

Chloe and the other girl tore away from each other violently in surprise just in time for Beca to body check the stranger.

"BECA?!"

She didn't quite know what happened after that, only registered fist after fist pounding into the stranger in her rage and Chloe's hands tearing her off of the girl. Chloe was crying, heaving practically, and cradling the other girl in her arms. The other girl, with the fat lip and bruised eyes, who hadn't registered what was happening until after it happened, who was currently consoling her girlfriend. One of the other neighbors had called the police… on her. Beca.

She fell back, staring down at the sight of the woman she loved holding another, glaring back at her accusingly, heartbrokenly.

"…Chloe?" her name fell from her lips brokenly. Chloe only shook her head, and looked back down to the other girl.

"Beca, I think we're through."

When the police showed up to investigate the disturbance, they shook their heads at the sight of the redhead walking over the trampled flowers and jewelry box as they dragged the small brunette out the door.

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **Happy endings are overrated.**

 **Ah! Please don't kill me!**

* * *

 **A.N. Update: I wrote this forever ago; if it seems familiar, that's because it's under my Bechloe drabbles story. Because I'd gotten a prompt for a second chapter, I thought I'd repost this along with the second one so that they could both be together consecutively. This isn't much meant to be a happy story, so hope that's not what you were looking for.**


	2. Moving On

Anonymous said:

Can you do a part 2 to the prompt you had with Chloe cheating on Beca and Chloe kicks Beca out. Like where they meet up again and Beca is happy but Chloe is miserable please I can't get the prompt out of my head.

 **Shout out to the Anon who requested this! Sorry it took me so long. Dunno for sure, but I might write another installment to this. This is the second part to "Chloe Cheats", which I wrote forever ago.**

 **Rated T for kicks and giggles.**

* * *

She hadn't meant for things to end the way they had. It seems like only yesterday that the door slammed on Beca as the police dragged her out of the apartment, and Chloe was left cradling her broken mistress in her arms. It's been five years.

Chloe seems to have caught Beca's obliviousness to time's passing.

She'd like to say that she knew immediately what the ache in her heart meant after she broke up with Beca. Chloe would like to say that somewhere in the days, in the weeks, in the months passing, that she knew what it was she was longing for. Chloe would like to say that she missed Beca right away, but it's been five years and it seems like just yesterday... And Chloe hadn't missed Beca at all until she saw her on tv and- holy fuck Beca looked good.

If Beca was attractive five years ago, she was downright breath-taking now. Her skin held a light tan from the California sunlight, her hair bleached to a lighter shade of brown by the sun. She held herself differently; there was a certain lightness about her. A gleam in her eyes, a blinding smile, a voice that seemed weightless. She walked confidently, parting the crowd with each step she took. She was charming as she spoke to the audience on the show, the host himself easily falling into the web her words weaved. It was clear to everyone watching that Beca owned the room, she was running the show, and no one minded. Butterflies erupted in Chloe's stomach seeing how much Beca had changed. And here, all Chloe had been trying to do was catch the news.

Was that a new tattoo...? A new piercing? Her hair was longer than Chloe remembered. Wilder. Freer.

Beca was a celebrity; the paparazzi's golden girl. Her music was critically acclaimed and was a hit with youth and young adults worldwide. She'd recently appeared on the cover of _The Rolling Stones_ and _Time Magazine_ because she was a musician powerhouse, but Chloe hadn't spared the slightest glance at her lost love. It was by pure chance that she'd caught the sight of Beca on the news.

Beca turned her head to look right at the camera, and Chloe drew in a sharp intake of breath when it seemed like Beca's eyes pierced her own through the tv screen. Beca gave a dazzling smile that left Chloe's heart pounding. How could she not have missed that? Those lips? Those eyes?

Chloe couldn't ever remember Beca smiling at her like that.

"So, Beca-" the host, a man in his mid thirties, began. "What's it like to hold the attention of the world in the palm of your hands? It seems like everything you produce becomes a chart topper within the next twenty-four hours."

The brunette's eyes flicked away from the camera and Chloe could breathe again. "You know, it's a bit surprising. Sure, this was the dream but I never expected to actually get this successful. I'm just an a capella, DJ nerd from Portland. I'm glad to share my music with the world."

"I understand that you didn't always have a clean record where you came from?" the host hinted.

Beca laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "C'mon, Ron. You know how some kids are. I was an angst ridden teenager in high school trying to take on the world. Me and the authorities didn't always see eye to eye."

Ron laughed as well, "I bet not!" He shuffled some papers around on his desk, seeming to look for something in particular. "Actually, there was a specific incident I had in mind. Right... here." He pulled a paper out and read over it as he asked, "Who is Chloe Beale?"

Frozen. Chloe felt frozen just then. Of everything that could have happened, that wasn't what she was expecting at all. How did they get her name? How did she get dragged into this? What was Beca going to say? It was almost an insult to Chloe when Beca didn't even bat an eye at the question; didn't even seem stunned or emotional at all. Beca just rolled her eyes and continued on with the interview as if the topic were nothing. As if Chloe were nothing. Was Chloe nothing to her at all?

"She's an ex. We dated from college up until about five or six years ago," Beca said nonchalantly, reaching for a glass of water from the coffee table in front of her. It was a well known fact that Beca was bisexual. Being a celebrity, she didn't have much of a private social or romantic life. Not that Chloe would know. She hasn't been keeping track of Beca over the years. Really, Chloe knew Beca was bi because they dated. Not because she was keeping tabs on Beca. Should she have been keeping tabs on Beca? God, what has Beca been up to over the past few years?

Ron looked up from the paper. Having already read it, he knew what the story was. However, it was his viewers who had yet to learn. Not to mention the juicy little details Beca might spill if he asked. After all, everyone loves a good romantic tragedy. "What ended it, if you don't mind my asking?"

Beca snorted, "I went home from work earlier than expected one night, set about making a lovely surprise for my girlfriend in our apartment. She didn't know, but I had the ring and everything. Everything was all set to ask her to marry me. I loved her."

"What happened?" Ron asked, empathetically.

Here, Beca did pause. There was a quiet, solemn look about her. Her voice was soft when she spoke, "She came home tangled up in another woman."

The audience made a collective gasping sound at this. How could anyone cheat on Beca Mitchell? It took a moment before Beca continued the sorry tale, "Needless to say, there was a bit of a domestic disturbance. The police were called and I was dragged out of the house heartbroken." A photograph of a clearly distraught younger Beca flashed up on the screen, mascara running down her cheeks with her tears as she was being placed into the back of a police cruiser. "I was probably a little out of line; the other woman didn't deserve what I did to her. At the time, though, it was a bit of a shock for me to think that the woman I loved with every fiber of my being and whom I'd thought loved me back, could cheat on me with someone else. To me, it was like she couldn't cheat on me with someone else. I knew that Chloe would never cheat on me with someone else. We were faithful to one another." There was another photo, this time of the back of a familiar redheaded woman as leaned over someone else, clutching her to her chest. "So when I saw them come fumbling into our home attached at the hips, I thought the woman was taking advantage of my girlfriend. I thought she was assaulting her. To be frank, I thought Chloe was about to be raped and I couldn't let that happen to her."

Was she... was Beca crying? Beca gave a teary smile and attempted to laugh it off, wiping at her cheeks uselessly. Chloe noticed that this time Beca's mascara did not run. Even in her pain, Beca still looked beautiful. Chloe's heart felt so tight in her chest, so pained. As she thought of it now, and it shouldn't even matter to her since it had happened so long ago, but she didn't understand why she could hurt Beca like that. Beautiful, perfect, fantastic girlfriend, Beca.

Ron let her continue, riding this story for all it was worth. "It was so stupid of me now when I think of it, but at the time I'd just wanted to protect someone I loved. Afterwards, I didn't have a place to go. I lost my job when my boss found out I'd gotten arrested. My ex and her lover didn't press charges, but most of my stuff ended up in the trash. At the time I was in a really low place."

"Where did you go? Hopefully, you had someone to turn to in all of this?" Ron asked, leaning slightly closer to the DJ with a look of sympathy across his face.

Chloe was surprised when Beca smiled again, soft in a different way this time. Brighter. Happier. It was clearly the look of someone in love, "Aubrey." She looked offstage and the camera followed her line of sight, landing on a tall blonde standing with some of the show's producers by sound equipment. Chloe gasped when she saw her once best friend. The blonde gave her own delighted grin and waved.

"Aubrey and I went to college together. At the time, we had difficulty getting along. She was stuck in her traditions, where as I kept pushing for something new. Eventually we compromised and were able to sort of get along, but we were never really friends. It wasn't until after I got arrested that everything changed." Beca got this faraway look on her face, remembering back to those difficult times with fondness rather than pain. "Chloe had called her to pick me up and to deliver the news that they weren't going to press charges. When Aubrey showed up and saw that I had nowhere to go, she didn't hesitate to bring me home with her. It took a long time before I was ready to open up again, before I was ready to trust again." Beca kept looking at Aubrey as she said this, and the blonde at she. Chloe, sitting on her couch alone in her apartment watching this, felt nausea stirring about her stomach. "When I did, Aubrey was there. Though this time, instead of catching the broken pieces of my heart, she caught my heart as I fell in love. We've been together ever since." The audience awed at the happier turn of events, glad the story didn't end with heartbreak.

Chloe felt otherwise. Her heart was hurting, her stomach churning, her mind racing. She kept thinking that it could have been her. That it could have been her that Beca was looked at like that instead of... Aubrey.

"Would you say that breaking up with Chloe was what pushed you to get this far?" Ron asked, reminding Beca that he was there. She looked away from Aubrey and back at the man interviewing her and didn't hesitate to respond.

"No," she said soundly. "I would say that it was definitely my fiancee's support that got me to where I am today. Without her, I'd probably still be working as a grocer at a convenience store and living in a crappy apartment. Aubrey is definitely the reason I am where I am today. Everything I've done, I've done for her."

Fiancee? Chloe looked down at Beca's hand in the tv screen and saw the undeniable sparkle of an engagement ring. An expensive engagement ring.

"Aubrey is one lucky woman," Ron says. The audience could feel the interview about to be wrapped up.

Beca shrugs simply. "I love her," she says in explanation. She directs one last beaming smile at the camera before it cuts to commercial and Chloe is left finally noticing that she misses her ex. That she misses Beca a lot.

There's a pounding on her door; her landlord knocking loudly and belting through it, reminding her that her rent is due and she has work early tomorrow morning at a preschool downstairs. She never did end up watching the news.


	3. The Invitation

What made Chloe do it? As in, literally do it? As in, cheat on Beca by having sex with her lover multiple times?

Chloe loved Beca when they were dating; really, she did. She'd like to say that there was something that drove her to do it. Like, a world ending crisis that could only be averted if she were unfaithful. Or, Beca was abusive to her, or neglectful enough that it drove Chloe away. She'd like to say anything that might give a sound enough reason to explain it, her drive to fuck someone else. She'd like to say that she'd fallen out of love. Maybe that would be sound enough reason.

But that is not the truth. As much as Chloe would like to say any of those things to make her seem even the slightest bit less like a douche, she thinks she's lied enough about it.

There wasn't anything wrong in their relationship. Beca was literally the perfect girlfriend. She was always so sweet. Some days Chloe would work early in the morning, and Beca would work late into the night. On those days it would seem like their schedules never matched up. So when Chloe come home after work, tired and hungry, she'd head to the fridge where more often than not she'd find a post-it note with the lyrics from love songs written on it in Beca's handwriting, along with well wishes for the day. Sometimes Beca would stop in during Chloe's lunch break even though her own didn't match up, bringing pastries from their favorite cafe to share as they ate together comfortably. Some nights if Chloe had fallen asleep anywhere else in the house other than their bed Beca would pepper soft kisses along her neck and her jaw, and gently soothe the tension in Chloe's shoulders with a light, relaxing massage until it woke Chloe up to Beca's loving arms. The best part about Beca was at night when she'd come home, if their schedules didn't match up, she'd quickly and quietly kick off her shoes and crawl into bed with Chloe. There, whether or not Chloe was sleeping, she'd kiss her cheek lovingly before resting beside her, curling around her and wrapping Chloe in her arms for the rest of the night. Chloe would sigh and curl back into her without hesitation. She'd never feel so safe, so open, so immortal and in love than in those when Beca would come home and fall asleep beside her. Beca made her feel like forever was a possibility.

Chloe thinks she could have married Beca and have lived happily the rest of her life.

So no, it wasn't out of loss of love or out of pushing either one away. It wasn't something world ending or life threatening that pushed Chloe to do what she did. Chloe cheated because she could have been beyond happily married to Beca for the rest of her life. She cheated because she could see a future with Beca. One with a golden retriever and kids, and a house that was a fixer-upper. She could picture paint stains and music notes and coming home every day to Beca's love notes on the fridge, to Beca's kisses along her neck, to falling asleep in Beca's arms feeling like the moment could be suspended forever and she wouldn't mind. Chloe cheated because, although Beca moved on and Chloe thought she had, Beca could've been the love of her life.

And, in a way, settling down made her terrified. Loving Beca that much made her terrified.

Not to mention that despite being in a relationship, Chloe still wasn't trapped. Having a future with Beca? Being tied to her? What kinds of things would she be missing? What kinds of heated romances? Where could she go in the world where she wouldn't be able to if she were tied down? What kinds of things wouldn't she get to do? And, if she had kids, what about work? What about life, and friends, and those nights where she could stay out and get plastered if she wanted? What if she got married to Beca and, despite loving her with every fiber of her being, Chloe still regretted it? What if they got serious and it wasn't meant to be?

Chloe is thinking about this as she pulls a particular envelope out of her mailbox and looks at the return address. She thinks about all the things that drove her to cheat on someone she thinks she'd loved since day one as she opens it and slides out the card. Chloe, as she reads the calligraphic writing on the card inviting her to the marriage of one Aubrey Posen and one Beca Mitchell, thinks about how she'd left work in the middle of the day the exact moment she'd realized how serious things were with Beca and ran to the only person she knew who might help her escape that intensity for a little while. Chloe, as she takes a pen and check marks the box next to the _Yes_ on the card that would let the happy couple know she'd be attending, thinks about how the woman she'd turned to had paused long enough to make sure that Chloe was sure about what they were doing before their clothes left and they'd started their affair. It was something Beca was never meant to find out. Chloe, selfish as she was, wasn't sure that being with Beca was what she wanted although she wanted Beca, and loved Beca. Moreover, she wanted to have the option to stay with Beca open in case happily forever after was. She wanted to be free and not be tied down, but at the same time she wanted to be tied down with Beca. She wanted both. There wasn't any harm in fooling around until she figured it out, she'd thought.

As the envelope with the wedding invitation is sent back to Chloe's ex, with whom she'd ended things on less than amicable terms, Chloe thinks about how she cheated on someone she'd loved so much with one of their best friends. Someone Beca hadn't even seemed to realize she knew as she knocked a few of the other woman's teeth askew and bloodied her nose. As Chloe feels she deeply down and not even not so deeply down misses Beca so suddenly, with every part that she has within her, she thinks about Stacie.

And then, as Chloe walks back into the house, she thinks about how she'll see Stacie at the wedding.

At Beca's wedding.

Where she'll be getting married to Aubrey.

* * *

 **A.N. I got a lot of people asking me what drove Chloe to cheat on Beca since we all have come to know that their relationship is one in which neither could possibly be cheated on, so I thought I'd answer. The way I figured, things aren't as always sure as they seem. Never judge a book by its cover. More than that, sometimes things just happen that you could regret the rest of your life but in that moment just before it happens, that action seems simple. Could be the moment you decide not to wear a helmet before going for a drive on your bike, and getting into some horrific accident. Could be deciding to get a tattoo for a cheaper price somewhere. Could be deciding to drive drunk, or to skip out on breakfast so you don't miss the bus or forgetting to take your allergy pills.**

 **Or, it could be deciding to cheat. What's the harm? It's not even serious. It'll happen once, who has to know? And even if it happens again, it's just some harmless fun. A way to relieve stress. You don't even love them like you do your bf or gf. What's the harm in keeping things open and discrete until you get tied down?**

 **I don't know. I tried to explain the emotions behind Chloe's reasoning, which are important, but the main thing to focus on here was that in the moment that Chloe made to choice to cheat on Beca, she knew what she was doing and it didn't seem like it would cost that much to her.**

 **Shout out to Erika, who requested a different fic in which Chloe gets pregnant. While I have an idea for it and might end up doing it, I'm only just getting back into writing so I don't want to make any promises. I will tell you however that if I do write it, it'll probably be a pretty long one shot that I'll write late tomorrow night and post under my Bechloe drabbles the morning after tomorrow. If you want to follow that or check that out then, no guarantees but there it is. Thanks for requesting.**


	4. How Life Works Out

Fucking sunny California.

The run down, local gym is humid and smells. The AC is broken, so the windows are cracked in the hopes of letting in a breeze but the air is still and stale. There is a crowd of men in the corner of the room that are not so subtly checking her out. And, because of the drought currently going on, water bottles cost a fortune. Even more than that though, she eats healthily and has a fit body. Needless to say, Beca doesn't quite understand why her fiancee drags her to the gym twice a week.

Although when Beca sees what she is seeing now, she usually stops complaining.

Riding intensely on the bike in front of her is Aubrey. From the position that the blonde takes at the machine, Beca has a perfect view of her ass rocking side to side as she rides. The guys in the corner are checking Beca out as she half heartedly does stretches, but Beca's eyes are on the blonde before her. Damn, Beca's a lucky woman. Her body twists into a different stretch and she holds it there for a moment, breathing in deeply. There are some days when Beca still doesn't believe that someone like Aubrey could (does) love her.

Beca has all the reasons in the world to be confident about herself presently. She has a woman who loves her, friends she can be herself with, family that is always there, she's living her dream and has become a popular musical icon for her generation, she has a strong career from which she makes more money than she knows what to do with, and she's legally able to marry to her partner in any of the fifty states should she wish. She's living an all around successful life and has every reason to be proud of it. Despite it, sometimes she can't help but doubt.

It's the twist of a knife in her gut, that feeling. It's as if for a moment the world is falling out beneath her and she's left alone with only her thoughts. Thoughts that tell her that maybe she shouldn't be so secure in what she has, that tell her that she could lose it all in a moment, that maybe she never really had it all in the first place. Doubts that make her think that maybe Aubrey doesn't really love her, that her friends aren't actually her friends, that her career is a lie. It's a ridiculous notion (some of it, anyway), because she worked so hard to get to where she is today. Continues to work her hardest to stay at the top of her game and to be the best all around person she can be. When she starts to doubt, it doesn't matter if it makes sense though. All that matters is that "What if?"

Life screwed her over a couple of times. Her parents divorce. Getting tossed around from parent to parent as if she were an object to be used and occasionally looked at, occasionally coddled, rather than a daughter to be loved and to raise. Her father always having an opinion on her life and doubting her dreams. Friends who'd she'd been close to, but whom eventually forgot about her. Being in a committed relationship with Jesse for three years before beginning to question everything she'd thought she'd known about herself and her sexuality; however, continuing on in that relationship regardless of her questions up until she got dumped. _Residual Heat_ firing her when they needed to make "cuts"- when they found out about Beca's record- despite her boss acknowledging the fact that she had potential, despite Beca being so close to her dream. That she was good. And then, of course, Chloe who cheated on her and caused a lot of things to change in Beca's life.

She has every right to be sure of her life now- to be confident of herself and of her loved ones- but, sometimes, she can't help but doubt. All of her past experiences taught her to cherish what she has while she has it, because tomorrow everything she loves could move on without her in their life. It's taught her that she could easily be left in the dust.

Beca suddenly becomes grounded again when the rhythmic movement of Aubrey's ass stops and Aubrey gets up. Suddenly, Beca's fiancee is walking towards her and it's all Beca can do to keep her hands to herself. They're in a public place after all. The blonde has her hair tied back in a ponytail, but there's this little wisp of hair partially sticking out around the side of Aubrey's face. When Aubrey's within range, Beca can't resist herself and lifts her hand to smooth the blonde strand back behind Aubrey's ear. Her hand lingers there, gently cupping the side of Aubrey's face. Aubrey leans into it, stepping closer and grabbing Beca's other hand with one of her own. She intertwines their fingers together and now- sweaty, tired, parched, and generally unattractive- they're just looking at each other. It's the simplest thing, but it makes Beca's heart swell and all of her shadowing doubts disappear. Aubrey was in this relationship for the long run.

And she knows, Aubrey knows that look on Beca's face. She knows the blank expression that exists when Beca is lost in her doubts (had seen it on Beca's face in the reflection on the window before her), she knows the determined and inspired expression that exists when Beca is lost in music, and she knows the expression Beca wears on her face now. Grateful, soothed, and loving. Aubrey doesn't say anything to acknowledge the moment she'd welcomingly invited herself to intrude upon a moment before, and she doesn't say anything to acknowledge the moment the two of them are locked together in now. Her head leans down and she plants a chaste kiss upon Beca's lips.

"Let's go home and shower," she murmurs against them.

Beca kisses her again in agreement.

Somewhere in the humid room there were men ogling the scene and catcalling them, but the girls paid no mind. They loved each other. They gathered their things and left the gym hand in hand.

Once they get home they separate. Aubrey goes in the bathroom to shower, and Beca starts going through the mail. Ads. Ads. Bills. A letter from one of Aubrey's brothers, the one who was overseas. More ads. Towards the bottom of the pile, there were a couple of the envelopes they'd sent out with the wedding invitations so that those invited could return them with an answer about whether or not they'd be going. They'd sent these invitations out to their close family and friends, a couple of their extended family members and colleagues, and all of the Bellas. There were still a lot of people that they were waiting to hear back from.

Beca pulls the envelopes up and looks at them. In those envelopes were answers from Fat Amy, Beca's distant aunt, both of their parents, and Aubrey's Maid of Honor. So far, all of the invitations that they'd sent out for their marriage had been accepted. Not that there was much doubt that any of the people she's received the invitations back from would say no, but it's still a bit of a relief to hold the solid proof in her hand. Her loved ones are coming to her marriage; their loved ones are coming to their marriage. They're getting married. Beca and Aubrey are actually getting married. This is actually happening!

Feeling beyond giddy, Beca leaves the pile where it is horribly sorted on the table and starts stripping off her clothes. She walks towards the bathroom as she does so, opening the door once she reaches it and walking through without hesitation. She spares barely a moment to shut it, the room steaming from the heat of Aubrey's shower, and slips in with her girlfriend. She wraps her arms around Aubrey from behind and rests her head on Aubrey's shoulder, sighing comfortably. Aubrey leans back in her embrace. As the scalding shower water pours down on them the two sway from side to side, listening to their own brand of music. They don't need to have sex to relax around one another, to be themselves around one another, or to show love to one another. They can be naked and stand there in the shower as water rains around them, lost in their own world. And, when they do get around to actually showering, it's filled with kisses and soft smiles and the two simply showering around one another.

Afterwards, they go to their room and get ready for bed. When they fall asleep, it's in one another's arms.

In her dreams Beca plays over her memories, the end of one love and the beginning of another. While Beca respected Aubrey's determination and fierceness as she strived to succeed in college, admired those qualities about her even, she hadn't much feelings for Aubrey otherwise. Beca didn't really know Aubrey, even. She only knew Aubrey through rehearsals and mandatory Bella bonding experiences, and for the majority of Aubrey's senior year they'd spent those moments arguing with one another. She hadn't really viewed Aubrey as anyone other than an acquaintance or a teammate. Even after Nationals when they'd started getting along Beca didn't really get a chance to get to know Aubrey because she graduated Barden. From there they'd lost touch and Beca hadn't felt like she was missing out on much. It just goes to show that she never knows what kind of people or things are really passing her by.

When Beca dated Chloe, she of course knew that Aubrey was the distant best friend. But Aubrey worked at a retreat in the middle of nowhere, and Chloe lived in a city. She was aware her ex and her current fiancee had texted nearly everyday at the beginning of their separation (when Chloe stayed in college and Aubrey moved on with her life)... but gradually Aubrey and Chloe chatted less and less. Aubrey had a retreat to run and Chloe had work to do. Both had new social circles to run in and spend time with, different obligations. Eventually, the once best friends became friends. And then friends became a friendship that they used to be. They became fond memories that occasionally called each other over the phone to reminisce. Beca, Chloe's girlfriend at the time, was always there for her girl. When she noticed what was going on with Aubrey and Chloe's friendship, she reserved herself to being Chloe's girlfriend and best friend all in one. It wasn't Beca who was losing someone at the time; Beca and Aubrey weren't really friends even if they were happy to see each other when they reunited. It was Chloe, and Chloe came first.

Then the break up happened, Beca got arrested, and she didn't have a home to return to or people to depend on or a job to support her. And Aubrey, who was called sometime hours after the incident to pick Beca up on bail, was unexpectedly there for her. It was weird at first. Aubrey and Beca had never exactly been close or had gotten to know each other. They hadn't spoken in years at that point. Suddenly, Aubrey was opening her door to Beca and inviting her into her home. Suddenly Aubrey was helping Beca pick up the broken pieces of her life, supporting her when Beca fell apart and helping Beca to get back up on her feet. They found themselves spending a lot of time together, more than they knew what to do with at first. They found themselves learning a lot about each other, things neither had ever known or had ever thought to know. Aubrey found herself liking Beca, and Beca found herself liking Aubrey right back.

And it was strange, staying at a wilderness retreat with Aubrey in the middle of nowhere. There was so much time on Beca's hands. When Beca got her feet under her and found herself again, she found herself reluctant to leave. Aubrey found herself wishing Beca wouldn't.

It was sort of inevitable at that point, them falling in love with each other.

When Beca got an offer from a recording studio in California that she couldn't say no to, Aubrey supported her dreams and sent Beca on her way. And once she got everything in order, Aubrey followed her there. They found that they liked being together a lot more than they like being alone.

Aubrey didn't ditch her retreat. She still owns it and manages it, even if it's from quite a distance sometimes. Whenever Beca and Aubrey are away in California, Aubrey has someone trustworthy to keep an eye over the place and report everything back to her. She skypes for work quite a bit, and things aren't quite as she'd imagined them to be in her life, but things worked out well for the both of them. They fell more and more in love with each other with each day that passed. There's no other way they'd want their life to be.

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **I have to say, I love the insight and discussion you guys are bringing to this story. It's interesting to see how you guys view the characters, and feel about Chloe's cheating. I don't really want to tell you what to think about Chloe's cheating; whether she did it just for fun or to escape something that was becoming too real for her or whether it was out of fear or whether she's simply a shitty person. Maybe it was a little of all of those things. Even if it wasn't, however, it's difficult to trust a character who is unfaithful or respect whatever their intentions are.**

 **The thing about reading is how you view and interpret what you're reading. I want you guys to interpret the story in your own way, and I'm glad that you are. The only explanation I'm going to give to this story and the prompts I've been receiving that tie it together is this: Love is a mess. A mess of emotions and garbage and confusion, and even when you think you've got it right you sometimes still get it wrong. Do you think that there'll be smooth sailing to this relationship, Beca's and Aubrey's, from here?**

 **This chapter touches upon how Aubrey and Beca ended up falling for each other as requested by** **blurtopia** , **but to be honest I think if I were to go into it their romance could become a whole other story. While I'm a Bechloe fan at heart, even love sometimes stops loving anymore and starts to love someone else. To Erika, it might take a day longer than expected to put up your requested story. I'm writing a bit more than I expected to. **

**Thank you all for reading. Feel free to again let me know what you think.**


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